Pikachu, I Choose You!: A Bleach Fanfic
by FanimeScribbler
Summary: What does Pikachu resemble? A mouse? Kinda. A yellow rat? That’s true...hey, but that’s beside the point. Yes, Pikachu looks like a rabbit! In short...Rukia finds out about Pokemon and all hell breaks loose for Ichigo
1. Chapter 1

Pikachu, I Choose You: A Bleach Fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and I could never ever own Bleach...besides, if I did, Bleach would not be nearly as awesome for is Tite Kubo who has made Bleach so great. Go Tite Kubo! XD

Summary: What does Pikachu resemble? A mouse? Kinda. A yellow rat? That's true...hey, but that's beside the point. Yes, Pikachu looks like a rabbit! In short...Rukia finds out about Pokemon and all hell breaks loose (for Ichigo)

Yes...believe it or not, but even with the title, this is a Bleach fanfic. My first too! (If you're wondering about that other fanfic on my account, the "Old friends" one, thats my friend's whose account isn't working...his is good too though! I edited it...Read it if you want a good Naruto fanfic P) I was suddenly seized by the urge to write this (I wanted to have _something_ written)...well, whether it rocks like Bleach or sucks like , I would appreciate it if you reviewed. Please and thank you!

Chapter 1

Rukia was bored. It was 6:00 – and her regular _Chappy__ the Rabbit _program wasn't on! She'd promptly stormed to Ichigo's room to complain about it, but after about 10 minutes the stupid orange-haired teenager had snapped and demanded she get out of his room. So here she was, sitting on the floor dejectedly, thinking wistfully of singing fluffy bunnies.

"Rukia-chan, what are you doing?" Rukia looked up to see Yuzu peering curiously at her.

"Oh, nothing", Rukia said, instantly pasting her much practised "innocent-school-girl" smile. "I'm just a little bit bored. There's nothing for me to do."

"Don't you usually watch _Chappy__ the Rabbit _around this time though?"

"Yes...but _Spider-man _is on." (Spider-man was the first movie that came to my mind XD) Rukia sighed. If it wasn't for that stupid Spider-man movie, her Chappy program would be on...Rukia made a mental note to hate spiders from here now on.

"Oh, thats too bad Rukia-chan..." Yuzu looked at Rukia pityingly. _Poor __Rukia__she doesn't even get to watch television that much and now _Chappy the Rabbit_ has been cancelled...I wonder if there's anything I can do to cheer her up... _Yuzu brightened as inspiration suddenly hit her.

"I know Rukia-chan! Why don't you watch _Pokemon _with me and Karin-chan?" Yuzu exclaimed brightly, her eyes brimming up with hope.

"Errr...I'll think about it."

"Great!" Yuzu took that as a yes and started dragging Rukia (ignoring her protests) towards the living room where Karin was seated on the couch.

"Hi Rukia" Karin said, eyes riveted on the television, which was now advertising Pantene shampoo.

"You can sit here." Yuzu firmly seated a bewildered Rukia on the couch to Karin's left and then sat down on _her _right so Rukia was sandwiched between them.

"But...what's _Pokemon_...?"

"Oh, it's starting!"

Rukia, with a sigh, gave up her protests, settled herself down, and started to watch television.

(Page break)

"Hmmm...it's pretty quiet." Ichigo put down his chemistry homework, rubbed his eyes, and yawned widely. "I wonder where Rukia went." He snorted as he remembered her grief at the cancellation of _Chappy__ the Rabbit._ As if he cared. "Maybe she went to the store to stare at Chappy merchandise."

Ichigo shrugged it off, then picked up his Shakespeare, preparing to re-read it yet again when Rukia burst into the room.

"Hey, knock first!" He said, thoroughly annoyed, but then stopped as he looked at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were lighted up so they shone like violet stars. _Uh-oh...she only gets that look on her face when she finds something __Chappy__-like... _he fervently hoped she hadn't found some more Chappy the Rabbit soul-candy. His arms still ached from his last encounter with that insane "pyon" thing.

"Ichigo!" He winced at her sugar-coated voice. He _hated _that voice. It made him think of that time when Yuzu had accidently dropped a huge amount of sugar into his hot-chocolate. Not to mention whenever she used it, he was usually forced into doing something for her.

She skipped into his room (_Seriously, what has happened to her? She's practically a-star with excitement)_ seized a pencil and a sheet of paper and started to draw, her eyebrows drawn together in concentration. After a minute, Ichigo unfroze and peered over her shoulder to look at the thing that she was drawing. He got the shock of his life.

"Oh my god..."

"Ichigo, what is this delightfully rabbit-like creature?!" Rukia, who was now finished, brandished her drawing into his lap. It was, unmistakably, a picture of Pikachu.

(30 minutes later...)

"So...you are saying that this Pikachu is a Pokemon?"

"...yes."

"And there are many different types of Pokemon?"

"...yes."

"And there are other Pokemon that look like Pikachu?"

"...yes."

Rukia gave a squeal of joy and rushed out of the room. Ichigo, who had been holding his breath, let it out explosively as soon as he was sure she was out of earshot. He'd been deeply terrified that she would start ranting about Pokemon all night.

Still shaky, he tried to remember what he'd been about to do before Rukia had come to interrogate him on Pokemon. He opened his Shakespeare and was about to start reading it when for the second time that day, Rukia burst into his room.

"Oi, I told you to knock first! And why are you looking at me that way?" Ichigo demanded. Rukia ignored his questions and pointed sternly to the computer.

"Go onto the official Pokemon website." She ordered him. Ichigo merely gaped at her, his mind hopelessly blank. After tapping her foot for a minute with crossed arms, she gave up waiting for him to gain his senses. Rukia slammed his mouth shut (ignoring his wincing) and sat him onto the chair in front of the computer. "Now Ichigo!"

"I cannot believe that anybody that's 150 years old would watch a show like Pokemon of all things...WHACK Alright, alright, I'll go to the damn site, wait!"

(The next day...)

YAWN "Sorry..." Ichigo tried to cover up his mouth as he yawned widely, rubbing his eyes with his other hand.

"Are you okay, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked worriedly. "You've been yawning a lot today..."

"You don't look too great either Ichigo," Tatsuki said, taking note of the circles under his eyes. "You sick or something?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. It's just I didn't get much sleep last night..." Ichigo's face darkened and he muttered something under his breath about something that sounded suspiciously to Orihime like "crazy little midget's obsessed with Pikachu".

"Oh, that's great to hear! Because I was worried that you may have eaten something bad or the sleep fairy didn't get to you!" Inoue exclaimed, wholeheartedly glad.

"Sleep fairy...?" _Who still believes in stuff like that...?_Ichigo and Tatsuki both wondered inwardly.

"Oh yes, the sleep fairy! You haven't ever heard of her? You see every night..." While Orihime started babbling happily to (an exasperated) Ichigo and Tatsuki, Rukia was babbling just as happily to Keigo, Mizuiru and Chad about Pokemon and the many cute bunny-like ones there were.

"Pikachu, and Pichu, and Raichu are all so delightfully yellow and fluffy! And Azumarill and all of it's evolutions have such adorable ears! Eevees are so adorable, with long ears and big eyes! And...and Buneary...! It's just too cute to comprehend!" Rukia gushed, sighing happily as she gazed at her (horrible) drawings of the bunny-like Pokemon from last night. Mizuiro sat listening with a smile and Keigo was overjoyed at how exceedingly radiant Kuchiki-san was today. Chad sat silently as always, looking wordlessly at the Pokemon in Rukia's sketchbook (of course, he's agreeing with Rukia – he has a weakness for cute things, remember?).

Uryuu walked wordlessly to Rukia and peered at her sketchbook.

"Hmmm...Pokemon would make a very interesting design for clothing..." He muttered under his breath, pushing up his glasses.

Orihime, who'd finished her ramble about the sleep fairy, perked up her ears at the mention of "Pokemon".

"Do you watch Pokemon too Kuchiki-san?" Orihime exclaimed bubbly, whisking over to Rukia's desk in an instant. Tatsuki followed her, loudly saying "Looks like you're not the only high schooler who watches Pokemon after all..."

Ichigo, who'd been nodding off to sleep again, snapped his eyes open and stared. That Rukia...she was getting the whole damn class riveted on Pokemon!

(After school...)

"Rukia..."

"Yes Ichigo?"

"Remind me again – how did we end up doing this?" Ichigo, with a thoroughly annoyed look on his face, was now accompanying practically his whole class on a search for Pokemon merchandise. Uryuu already had picked out fabrics for new Pokemon-based clothing to be made out of. Chad and many others were now clutching a Pokemon plushie. Rukia was among them, clutching a bright yellow Pikachu plushie which squealed "Pikachu!" when squeezed. Of course, it had been bought using Ichigo's money, but he had given her the money and brusquely told her to buy it _herself._ He'd taken care nobody had seen him handing her the money either. He had enough trouble with the damn rumours about him and Rukia without being seen openly buying her gifts.

"Why, isn't it obvious Kurosaki-kun?" Rukia asked innocently. Ichigo frowned deeper and glared at her. "Everybody here loves Pokemon! That's why we're buying Pokemon merchandise."

"Well, _I _don't."

"Then why are you even here?" She asked mischeviously.

"You know _perfectly _well why I'm here." He said shortly. _Because you'd beat the crap out of me if I refused to give you the money for this._ However, Keigo read a totally different message from the simple sentence.

"Of course Kuchiki-san does! We ALL do! It's because you are clearly madly in love with Kuchiki-san, Ichigo!" Keigo cried out loud enough for the whole street to hear. Several heads swivelled, people pointed and a group of girls nearby stared and giggled. Mizuiru sighed and shook his head sadly. When would Keigo ever learn to keep his mouth shut?

Ichigo stopped walking and began twitching violently. His classmates, as one (except Keigo and Rukia) sighed and stepped away. Orihime took care to grab Rukia (who was oblivious to what Keigo just said) and bring her over to the "safe" side. Keigo gulped as he felt the murderous aura coming from his orange-haired friend. _Was it something I said?_

(At the Kurosaki household...)

"Good-bye Keigo-san! See you soon!" Yuzu waved a heavily bandaged Keigo out of the Kurosaki clinic. After Ichigo had finished beating Keigo to a pulp, they had all decided that the time was ripe to go home. Ichigo had to bring Keigo back home with him for medical care.

"Ichi-nii...you need to stop beating up your friends..." Yuzu admonished Ichigo when Keiigo had hobbled out of sight. Ichigo scratched the back of his head and said lazily, "Relax Yuzu – it's good for him. It teaches him when to shut his big fat mouth. I'm gonna go upstairs now...gotta study."

When Ichigo opened his room, he thought for a moment he had went to the wrong room. He blinked, then looked again. It was his room alright...covered with many, many (badly drawn) pictures of Pokemon. Rukia was sitting his bed, busy drawing more.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?" Ichigo roared at her. Unfazed, Rukia looked up calmly and explained with an infuriatingly patient air, "I'm drawing, Ichigo."

"Well, hell yes, I know that, but why the fuck did you stick all of..._these_...all over _my_ room?!" He yelled, gesturing wildly at all the drawings.

"I can't stick them all over Yuzu and Karin's room, now, can I?" She continued to explain, with the air of one patiently teaching a toddler that one and one makes two. This did not help. Ichigo began to tear all of the pictures off his walls, computer, desk...

"What are you gonna do with those?" Rukia said, suddenly menacing.

"I'm gonna burn them all! They all suck anyways!" And this proceeded into a very loud and noisy fight, which involved a great deal of banging.

(Downstairs...)

Karin looked up in the general direction of Ichigo's room. "They finally stopped yelling." She took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Those two...they need to grow up."

Isshin, whose eyes were full of tears, began talking to the poster of his wife which was plastered over the wall. "Oh, Masaki...! Our son has finally found love!"

"Where did you get that idea, Goat-chin?" Karin asked incredulously. "I've never seen two people fight more."

"Well, as they say "The more a couple fights, the more they're fond of each other!" Isshin proclaimed happily, continuing to grovel at the foot of the gigantic poster of his wive. Karin sighed. There really was no point to argue with him.

"Whatever, Dad...just make sure not to say that in front of Rukia or Ichi-nii. They'll kill you..."

(Back in Ichigo's room...)

"Fine...you can stick them in my closet. Happy?" Ichigo grumbled. After pointless arguing, Rukia had resorted to violence to keep her pictures. He was now lying on the ground with Rukia pinning his arm to his back, one foot planted firmly on his back.

"Yes! Thank you Ichigo!"

"Now get OFF me!"

"What's all this noise?!?" Isshin boomed as he slammed open Ichigo's bedroom door. He blinked as he looked around his eldest child's bedroom (Pokemon pictures XD), looking slightly confused before he noticed Rukia (who was still pinning Ichigo to the ground).

"Rukia-chan!" Isshin gushed. "Did you draw of all of these beautiful drawings?!" he gestured excitedly around Ichigo's bedroom.

"Oh, yes, Kurosaki-san!" Rukia said, smiling blindingly bright and hastily, getting off of Ichigo. Ichigo struggled into a sitting position, rubbing his sore arms while casting dark looks at Rukia.

"Why, you're a fan of Pokemon as well!" Isshin cried out as he examined the nearest drawing, which was of Minun and Plusle. He trembled with excitement before he yelled out "This is wonderful!!! The whole family loves Pokemon!"

"What am I? A neighbour then?" Ichigo asked in an annoyed tone but he was ignored by his father, who was fairly glowing with childish joy.

"This is GREAT! This means that I can finally go on that trip I've been wanting to for ages..."

"A...trip? To where...?" Ichigo had a bad feeling about this...

(Before you read where, try and guess where they're gonna go! I'm giving you 15 seconds...)

(Ok, you can read on now XD)

"THE POKEMON CENTRE!!!"

(End of Chapter)

Yeah...yes, they ARE going to the Pokemon Centre in Tokyo. So you can look forward to all the Pokemon goodness in the next chap! (which is probably gonna come out sometime next month..sorry OO) But of course, I'm gonna need to get an idea of what it's like...Has anyone been to the Pokemon Centre in Tokyo or New York and can tell me whats there?!? If not, I'm probably gonna have to wing it...

Anyways, thanks for reading, and again, PLEASE REVIEW!!! (The more reviews, the faster I'll update...hehe)


	2. Chapter 2

Pikachu, I Choose You: A Bleach Fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach because it wouldn't be as awesome if I did (sigh)...or any Pokemon (I should've said this last time...whoopsie).

Summary: What does Pikachu resemble? A mouse? Kinda. A yellow rat? That's true...hey, but that's beside the point. Yes, Pikachu looks like a rabbit! In short...Rukia finds out about Pokemon and all hell breaks loose (for Ichigo)

And yes, I'm back with another chap!!! Hope you've all enjoyed chap 1...and that I haven't waited too long before posting this up. Thank you, all you reviewers! It really inspired me to start working (see? Reviews make me update faster! Told you so!) although I probably screwed up the Pokemon Centre bad (I'm sorry...). I did extensive research (kinda...) on it though, so I hope I have at least SOME details right!

After my friend read my last chap, he got seriously offended by my mention of Spider-man OO. For any of you who took it as an offense to Spider-man, I'm sorry for the confusion!!! I like that movie too!!!

Anyways, let's see how Ichigo manages this time...and please REVIEW!!!

Chapter 2

"You're going to the Pokemon Centre in Tokyo this weekend?!?" Orihime exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked enviously at a beaming Rukia. "Oh, I've been wanting to go there for ages...you're so lucky, Kuchiki-san!"

_Not to mention you're going with Kurosaki-kun..._Orihime thought wistfully, blushing slightly as she glanced at the afore mentioned teenager. The contrast between Ichigo and Rukia was striking; while Rukia was flushed with childish excitement, Ichigo had the grim air of one who was to be executed within the next 48 hours.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE US WITH YOU, ICHIGO?!?" wailed Keigo loudly, sobbing piteously on his desk. (Hey – he's miraculously healed from Ichigo's pummelling from last chap!) He lifted his tear-filled eyes to stare waterly at Ichigo, his lips trembling.

"Idiot – we don't have enough room in our car for _you_ too," Ichigo replied irritably. However, Keigo was now being preoccupied by another thought which had just struck him.

"You...you're going to have a whole weekend in Tokyo at the Pokemon Centre with KUCHIKI-SAN!!!" He suddenly appeared in front of Ichigo seizing the front of his shirt, shaking him with sudden fury. "You're...you're gonna pull moves on Kuchiki-san aren't you, you lucky-"

Keigo was promptly punched in the face by Ichigo, whose face was stony. Sadly, nobody cared to check if Keigo was unscathed or not; they were too absorbed in the details of the trip the Kurosaki household was going on.

"Yes, we're going to be staying in – what was the hotel again Kurosaki-kun? Oh yeah, Yaesu Pearl Hotel. It's gonna take about an hour and a half to get there. Yes, we're driving there. Oh, we're heading out pretty early next morning. First, we gonna..." Rukia lavishly gave out details of their trip to the eagerly listening classmates. Many had pleaded to Rukia and Ichigo to buy them souvenirs, and to send photos taken.

"All right, settle down, class is starting!" Misato Ochi (the teacher) came in with a big smile on her face. She stood patiently as she waited for the hubbub to calm down and for everybody to go to their seats. (I wonder how she manages to have any control over that class at all, the way she teaches o.O)

"I see that there's no school this Monday, being a P.D. Day," she observed after she took attendance. There was a murmur of excitement. Nobody paid too much attention to Keigo as he quite literally bounced in his seat. "Well, try to focus in class today. Then you'll be able to enjoy your long weekend; try to stay alive!"

Somehow, Ochi-sensei's last comment –

(_try__ to stay alive!)_

_-_had seemed quite ominous to Ichigo.

(After school...heck, let's make it 3:30PM)

"Good-bye, everyone!" Rukia waved cheerfully to her classmates until she couldn't hear Keigo's mournful wails anymore. Then she ran to catch up with Ichigo, who had been walking rather fast that afternoon. "Hey, Ichigo, what's with you? You've been even more moody today than usual."

Ichigo merely glowered at her. The look he had on his face was starting to get on Rukia's nerves. So, of course, impulsive Rukia immediately smacked deliberately and quite violently on his head.

"What are you DOING, you crazy little moron!" He spluttered, holding one hand up to his now throbbing head. She sniffed and adjusted her school bag.

"I'd prefer if you didn't spoil my mood by looking like you were about to be executed," Rukia said in a dignified tone. (_I don't think she knows how much she resembles __Byakuya__ when she does that..._ Ichigo thought) "Try to lighten up! We're going on vacation!" There was a quiet beeping noise.

"Ah, perfect timing – a Hollow should clear up your mood, Ichigo," Rukia noted, whipping out her cell phone. Without hesitating, she broke into a run, Ichigo trailing not far behind her.

The Hollow turned out to be by the park, where they had given Soul Burials to many other souls. Ichigo promptly grabbed his badge and launched out of his body with ease, his reiatsu flaring as he entered shinigami form. Rukia rummaged through her bag for her soul candy, while Ichigo tackled the Hollow.

"Ah ha!" Rukia exclaimed, as she finally managed to retrieve the soul candy. She paused before popping the candy into her mouth though. _It's so cute..._she thought, looking at the Chappy shaped container. _It's like __Pokemon__...we're going to the __Pokemon__ Centre tomorrow too! __There's__ so many things I __wanna__ see there...I should get __Ichigo__ to buy me lots of-_

"OI! RUKIA! Why are you just sitting there, dumbass?!?" Ichigo yelled. Rukia gave a guilty start as looked wildly around. Ichigo was standing behind Rukia, his sword resting on his shoulders. The Hollow was nowhere in sight.

"W-what? Where's the Hollow?" Rukia asked, completely confused. Ichigo looked at her with a weird expression.

"I killed it already. I guess you didn't notice; you were too busy looking for that." He stared pointedly at the soul candy. Rukia looked down at the Chappy head on the Soul Candy container, embarrassed. _I was distracted from a Hollow so easily!_ There was an awkward silence between the two of them until she realized that they were supposed to be home.

"Ichigo!" She hastily grabbed Ichigo by his top and dragged him to his body. Ichigo hastily grabbed Zangetsu before he accidently cut Rukia with it, and it wrapped itself in its bandages automatically, securing the zanpakto to his back. "We've gotta get home to start packing for the trip!"

"Why are you saying that like it's my fault?" He asked as he re-entered his inanimate body. Stretching his limbs, he frowned and continued, "You were the one who was spacing out, idiot!"

"Shut up!" She snapped at him, her cheeks flushed dark red. _Oh, if __Renji__ and __Nii-sama__ knew about this..._she didn't dare follow that train of thought further. She picked up her bag with as much dignity as she could muster at the moment and started walking briskly towards the direction of Ichigo's house.

"But you know it's true!" Ichigo caught up with her quickly and continued to argue with her. He clearly didn't understand why she was so embarrassed. (stupid Ichigo, stop being dense – or you're gonna say something you're gonna regret!!!) "Why were you just sitting there anyways? Some shinigami you–"

"SHUT UP!" She swung her school bag violently at Ichigo, who unfortunately, wasn't able to block it and it happened to hit a...very inconvenient spot for him (I bet you can guess where). While Ichigo was doubled over in pain, Rukia took the opportunity to proceed to beat every inch of him that she could reach.

(At the Kurosaki residence...4:00ish)

"Rukia, you shouldn't have beaten up Ichi-nii...now we've got to treat his wounds before we start packing." Yuzu sighed sorrowfully as she looked over her brother's battered body. He had been unconscious when Rukia had finally returned carrying his body.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Rukia exclaimed. _I would've have beat him up so bad if I knew that..._she mourned. "You know what, I'll pack up his stuff too!" _I really __wanna__ go to the __Pokemon__ Centre! _She thought fervently as she rushed up the stairs.

"Nee-san!!!!" Kon flew at Rukia, attempting to hug her (as well as get as cope a feel o.O) but Rukia merely slammed the door in his face. Once she heard the quiet but reassuring "thud" of the plushie colliding with the door, she opened it again and walked into Ichigo's room.

"Nee-san!!!" Kon repeated, getting up undauntedly and launched hemelf at Rukia. She caught him easily before he could land on her chest. "Why do I have to stay in the suitcase at our trip to the Pokemon Centre?!?" He wailed, bemoaning his horrible fate. He writhed as he futilely tried to get closer to her.

"You'll be fine by yourself; besides you won't be staying in the suitcase, you'll be in his duffel bag," she said unemotionally, unzipping the afore mentioned bag which lay on Ichigo's bedroom floor. She began to pile in t-shirts, jeans, and more of Ichigo's clothing while Kon sat on the wardrobe, watching while complaining loudly.

"Why do only you and Ichigo get to go? I'm as much a part of this team as you are! If it weren't for me…" Kon paused as he struggled to recollect the last time he'd been of any use to anyone. "Uhh…Karin and Yuzu wouldn't have been safe after the Grand Fisher attacked! And also, without my fabulous Kon Radio Porgram, you know you'd all be so much more bored!"

The stuffed animal ranted on in his loud, whiney voice until Rukia snapped, a temple throbbing in her forehead.

"And you _know _that-"She suddenly grabbed Kon by his head, squeezing slightly harder than was nessecary.

"Gah! Nee-san, what are you doing?!?"

Without so much as blinking, she stuffed the loudly protesting stuffed animal in the suitcase, and began stuffing handfuls of Ichigo's clothing on top of Kon from his wardrobe. "I don't want to have to cover up a crowd of people's memories if you accidently do something." She said dismissively.

"But..." Kon was having some trouble breathing, his muzzle forced into a pair of Ichigo's boxers. "But...I promise I'll be good Nee-san!" He struggled to remove the boxers, but was distracted as a load of jeans came tumbling on top. "Mmmph! Nee-san! I can't b-breathe!" _Everything's going black__…... __how could you do this to me Nee-san…?_

After the muffled yells and shifting from under Ichigo's clothing had stopped, Rukia vaguely supposed that Kon had finally given up and resigned to his fate. She zipped up the suitcase, satisfied.

"Now...time to pack my clothes."

(Some time later...5:45, let's say)

"Picnic lunch?"

"Check."

"Suitcases?"

"Check."

"Camera?"

"Check."

"Our allowances, Ichigo's wallet and Dad's wallet?"

"Check."

Yuzu and Karin were busily checking over to see if they had indeed packed everything, Karin listing off the items while Yuzu checked them off on a clipboard, with a serious look on her small face. Evidently, she was taking this trip every bit as seriously as Rukia was.

The Kurosaki family was gathered in the living room, each checking over last minute details (except for Ichigo, who was just sitting there, brooding).

"Alright!" Isshin boomed, glaring with assumed authority at the members of his family. Yuzu and Rukia sat up and stared at Isshin with looks of utmost attention, Karin looked mildly interested, and Ichigo merely grunted. "Now that we've made sure we have all the luggage, let's go over the plans!" He whipped out a map, a pointer and a clipboard (from...his pockets? O.o), spreading the map over the table, holding the clipboard with one hand, and the pointer in the other. He placed the pointer on the dot labelled "Karakura Town".

"6:00 AM – we will wake up then. We shall have breakfast before heading out. This, of course, will be your responsibility." He nodded curtly at his youngest daughter, who brought her hand into a salute. "While Yuzu is preparing the meal, the rest of us will be loading the car. Rukia and Karin shall be bringing the luggage outside, where Ichigo and I shall be bringing it to the car." Rukia and Karin nodded while Ichigo grunted again. "After breakfast, we shall be setting out."

"By 7:30, we should have reached Tokyo." Isshin then pulled out a map of Tokyo and placed it over the previous map. "We shall be heading to Yaesu Pearl Hotel to get our hotel rooms and drop off our luggage. Unfortunately, the Pokemon Centre doesn't open until 9:00." (I made this time up o.O) Rukia, Yuzu and Isshin sighed together, Karin looked rather disappointed and Ichigo was busy staring at a spot on the ceiling. "We shall be doing some window shopping until then."

"When the Pokemon Centre does open, we shall then head over immediately!" Rukia cheered, Yuzu clapped her hands together in joy, and Isshin himself looked ready to explode with barely contained excitement. Ichigo idly wondered how they would react once they were actually _in_ the store. "At 12:00, we shall go eat lunch, but otherwise, until 5:00, you have all the time you want in the Pokemon Centre!"

"As for Sunday, we shall be having a picnic in a very nice park I heard about from a patient of mine. We're probably gonna be there for quite a few hours." _Well, at least that sounds _nice, Ichigo thought dryly, still staring at the ceiling. "After that, we shall make one last trip to the Pokemon Centre – that'll be very long, I assure you! – and have some hot pot for dinner ( I LOVE HOT POT XD). The next morning, we shall be returning home so you have lots of time to share all your weekend with your friends on the P.D. Day!" Ichigo gulped. He certainly didn't want to have to recount everything that was going to happen to him in the next 48 or so hours sooner than absolutely necessary – he didn't want to _remember _them.

"Anyways, this meeting is officially declared over! And now – it's time to watch POKEMON!" Rukia and Yuzu gave out yells of joy while Karin whooped. Yuzu rushed to prepare popcorn, while the other 3 rushed to the couch. Ichigo tried to sneak back to the safety of his room, but Rukia saw him out of the corner of her eye.

"ichigo! Where are you going?" She bounced over to him, and began dragging a miserable Ichigo back into the living room. "Let's watch Pokemon to get into the spirit for our trip tomorrow!" She happily forced him onto the sofa beside Isshin and sat next to him so he was sandwiched between them, much the same way Rukia had been by Yuzu and Karin before. Ichigo sighed and steeled himself for a half-hour of torture as the first Pikachu started to appear on the television screen.

(6:00 the next morning)

_"__Ichigo__!"__Rukia__ rushed to __Ichigo__ with a look of great excitement on her face. They were standing just outside of the Kurosaki residence, dressed and ready in their school uniforms._

_"Yeah, what is it?" __Rukia__ merely pointed sky wards. He squinted up at the sky and noticed a small speck. As it approached he noticed that it was yellow...quite small...and_

_A PIKACHU._

_"__Pika__!"__ It squealed, landing on his face. He screamed, immediately trying to pull the thing off his face, but the Pikachu yelled in fright and clutched on harder. When he managed to pry it off, he noted with horror there were __Pokemon__ EVERYWHERE. There was a __Turtwig__, a __Plusle__ running after a __Minun__, a __greta__ flock of Hoot-hoots nesting in the trees as __Pidgeys__ flew by. __Diglets__ busily tunnelled alongside __Swinubs__ wandering aimlessly._

_"W-what the fuck is going on?!?" At that precise moment, a __Kyogre__ happened to blast his room out of existence with its Hyper Beam._

_"Isn't this great?" __Rukia__ asked him happily, the thrice-accursed Pikachu __in her arms. "__Pokemon__ are _real_ and you'll _never _be separated from them!!!"_

Ichigo woke up that moment, screaming in utmost horror. Rukia sat patiently next to him, waiting for him to get up. After wildly looking out of his window to make sure Pokemon did _not _exist, he sighed.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute," he muttered, his voice still slightly wild. Rukia gave him a weird look before heading downstairs. Ichigo groaned. He was _not _looking forward to this weekend.

(At the same time. In...Ichigo's duffel bag? O.o)

Kon was the most miserable stuffed animal...well, not alive...in existence. It was dark, he could hardly breathe, he couldn't move and he was stuffed into Ichigo's _boxers._

_Oh, Nee-san! Why couldn't have at least stuffed me into _your _underwear!_

(End of Chapter)

Lol, so what'd you think of that? This fanfic is turning out much longer than I originally thought...o.O. Well, I hope that I've kept Ichigo tortured enough to keep you all happy! Plz review – see? REVIEWS MAKE ME UPDATE FASTER!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Pikachu, I Choose You: A Bleach Fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach (sigh) or Pokemon (sigh).

Summary: What does Pikachu resemble? A mouse? Kinda. A yellow rat? That's true...hey, but that's beside the point. Yes, Pikachu looks like a rabbit! In short...Rukia finds out about Pokemon and all hell breaks loose (for Ichigo)

AAAAANNNNDDDD welcome back, to Celebrity Jeopardy! Oh, what am I saying?! (Cross out "Celebrity Jeopardy"; insert "Pikachu, I Choose You : A Bleach Fanfic")At any rate, another chapter is HERE. The second chap proved to be an instant hit – I'm so happy!!!! (sobs with joy – ok, so not quite that far) Thank you all who reviewed! By the way, I'd like to add that for my stories, if you've got an idea you'd like to see in the chapter, by all means, fire away! I've already incorporated a few ideas from reviewers (thnx, Zubi!).

Alright, and now...back to Rukia's obsession and Ichigo's torture (this is better than cable munches on popcorn)

* * *

Chap 3

"What the...? What are you guys doing here?!?" Ichigo screamed, pointing at what appeared to be his entire class outside his house. It was weird enough seeing some of them (coughKeigocough) up this early on Saturdays, but the whole lot of them seemed to be sporting SOMETHING with a Pokemon on it. Banners and flags were lifted above their heads, with slogans like "POKEMON CENTRE ROCKS" and "PIKA-PIKA" on them (Keigo sported a flag which stated "BRING ME BACK SOMETHING GOOD")

"Isn't it obvious?" Keigo yelled joyously, waving his flag in small circles. Mizuiru stood next to him, smiling serenely. "We're here to send you off, and make sure you bring stuff back for us!" The class cheered.

"You...you mean for all of you?" Ichigo felt his mouth going dry.

The class erupted into yells of joy. Many of the girls squealed and hugged each other (Chizuru attempted to hug Orihime, but Tatsuki punched her down) while the boys whooped loudly.

One of the neighbours poked his head sleepily out of his bedroom window to see what the ruckus was all about.

"Obviously, yes!" Keigo shouted over all the noise.

"NO-"

"Of course!" Isshin had just fixed a sign on the front door (We regret to inform you that we will not be seeing any patients this weekend, the 18th and 19th. We apologize for any inconvenience or loss of life. – KUROSAKI Clinic) and was now rushing up to Keigo. He placed his hands on Keigo's shoulders and looked at Ichigo's classmates. He gave a great sniff, and tears came to his eyes.

"Oh, Ichigo! Look at how supportive your friends are of Pokemon!" He turned to Ichigo, his face suddenly serious. "We have been privileged enough to go on this trip – it is your duty to bring them all gifts from the Pokemon Centre!"

"But...I can't..." Ichigo struggled to find his tongue and say that _he just didn't have enough money_ but then Rukia came out, peering curiously at her class. Orihime spotted her and waved enthusiastically.

"Hi Kuchiki-san!"

Keigo, upon seeing Rukia, got an evil twinkle in his eye. _Ichigo is never able to resist anything that Kuchiki-san asks of him...hehe._ "Oh, Kuchiki-san!" he called. Rukia automatically smiled at him and greeted him back. "Kuchiki-san, Ichigo here, my supposed friend" he sighed, "says that he _can't _buy us souvenirs from the Pokemon Centre."

"Why, what are you saying, Ichigo?" Rukia asked, fixing him with a glare. "Of _course_ he's gonna buy you all gifts! Right Ichigo?"

"HELL-" He stopped and gulped as Rukia fixed him with her "Say-the-wrong-answer-and-I'll-brutally-murder-you-then-feed-your-hacked-corpse-to-a-Hollow" look. "...fine."

The class gave out screams of joy. Chizuru tried to hug Orihime _again_ (but was punched even harder by Tatsuki), Orihime seemed to be doing a sort of waltz with Michuru, and Ryo actually smiled. Uryu pushed up his glasses and smirked at Ichigo (who was busily mourning the execution of his wallet), Keigo was hugging a smiling Mizuru while crying great tears of joy and Chad said "...yay." Overall, the noise would've blown the roof off, if they were in a house.

Another neighbour (still adorned in his pyjamas) came out of their front door and stared at them with a hard stare. He tried to recall how many times he had been able to wake peacefully in the morning and remembered none.

Ichigo's class watched the Kurosakis eagerly as they packed. At the end, there was just a slight problem – they didn't have enough room for one more suitcase.

"Darn." Isshin glared at the offending suitcase and then looked at the trunk, which was packed full to bursting. "I think we're gonna have to put this in the front passenger's seat."

"But that's where I'm sitting!" Ichigo protested.

"Then sit at the back!"

"Yuzu, Karin and Rukia are sitting there! We won't all fit!"

"Hmmm...true."

"Why don't you get one of them to sit on Ichigo's lap then?" Uryu said matter-of-factly. "Any one of them would fit."

"YEAH – KUCHIKI-SAN, WHY DON'T _YOU _ON ICHIGO'S LAP?!" Keigo yelled, while the boys in his class snickered and the girls giggled. _Aww, __Rukia's__ lucky...I'd probably squash Kurosaki-kun if I tried that, _Orihime thought wistfully, her face turning pink as she imagined what it'd be like spending the car-ride in Ichigo's lap. Ichigo turned red while Rukia blinked.

"NO." Ichigo blurted. Rukia frowned slightly, trying to figure out why her classmates were looking at her and Ichigo in a knowing way. _Really, humans have the weirdest notions, _Rukia noted

"Oh, can I sit in your lap, Ichi-nii?" Yuzu asked happily. "You haven't let us do that in _ages_._" _The girls in Ichigo's class oohhed and ahhed; the guys gaped, trying to imagine Ichigo letting ANYBODY sit on his lap.

Ichigo sighed. _There goes my image..._ "...go ahead, Yuzu."

Ichigo's class erupted into cheers again. The neighbour looked even more sourly at them.

As the Kurosaki's backed out of their driveway, the whole of Ichigo's class waved and cheered. Orihime launched into song, soon joined by the rest of her class (except Chad and Uryu and Ryo; Chad doesn't speak much, so he wouldn't sing much either, Uryu was too proud to sing and Ryo's too cold to sing).

"Pokemon Centre; it's there you go!

With Mudkips, Pikachus and Slowbros!

Games, videos, and plushies too

Of Meowth, Turtwig and Mewtwo

DVDS, cards, keychains, toys

For every single girl and boy

There's merchandise galore,

And we want more!

Garage kits, stationary, pencils, pens

And it's all gonna cost you a lot of yen!

Oodles of stickers, songs to hear

Oh, if only the Centre was near

It's not just an act;

We all know it's fact!

That everyone loves –

POKEMON!"

The class finished their song with a flourish, and bowed in unison (except Chad, Uryu, and Ryo) as the Kurosakis drive away (Ichigo was gaping out of the window, while Rukia stared at them from the back, Karin as well. They all had an incredulous look on their faces.). Then they applauded themselves loduly, and slowly walked away from the now deserted clinic.

The Kurosakis' neighbour watched the small crowd disperse and then walked back inside his home. His wife was waiting inside, looking at him with a "I-told-you-so" face.

"Dear", he said to his wife. "I do believe you were right. We're moving!"

(Half an hour later)

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

(Silence)

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

(More silence)

"Are we there yet?"

"NO."

(Nearly a minute ticks past in silence)

"Are we-"

"NO, DAMMIT AND STOP ASKING ME!"

Rukia gave up with a sigh, and contented herself with staring out of the window. Ichigo silently thanked God Rukia had finally shut her mouth. Yuzu and Karin were nodding off to sleep, drooling slightly. They'd been stuck in the car for over 2 hours.

"Damn traffic jam," Isshin muttered from the front, glaring at the bumper of the car in front.

Ichigo yawned widely. He shifted his legs slightly, trying to get the blood circulating; they were starting to feel numb under Yuzu's weight. The car was silent until Rukia started to sing quietly under her breath. Ichigo turned and looked at her, frowning slightly as he tried to catch what she was singing:

"There's merchandise galore,

And we want more!

Garage kits, stationary, pencils, pens

And it's all gonna cost you a lot of yen!"

He groaned and tried not to remember how broke he would be by Monday.

(Some time later)

_He was being drowned. __In __plushies__ of POKEMON._

_"WHAT THE FUCK?!?"__ He struggled to reach the surface but more __plushies__ just rained down on him. He pushed away a __plushie__ of __Chansey__, and tried to reach for something solid to grab onto. He started to sink downwards...down...down..._

"Ichigo! Wake up! We're here!"

He awoke with a violent jerk to find himself safe in the family car. Rukia was shaking him impatiently, her eyes lighted up. "We're in Tokyo!"

And so they were.

(At Yaesu Pearl Hotel...I've never been here, so I have NO CLUE what it's like – and yes, as a matter of fact, it IS a real hotel)

"We'll be taking two rooms", Isshin said happily to the clerk.

"Wait, who's gonna be sleeping in the rooms?" Ichigo asked his dad suspiciously. The crazy old man might have some crazy idea up his sleeve...

"Why, Karin, Yuzu and Rukia will be sleeping in one while you and me sleep in another!" He exclaimed matter-of-factly, looking at Ichigo with a "surely-you-can't-be-that-stupid" face. "Unless..." he eyed Rukia and Ichigo suggestively.

"Shut up, old man!" Ichigo hit him on the head, flushing. The clerk lifted his eyebrow. Rukia wondered why everybody was looking at them strange now.

"Oh, Ichigo! It gladdens my heart that you wish to sleep with your daddy after all!" Isshin cried out loud, changing tactics at the speed of light. Ichigo hit him on the head again.

"Shut up! Two beds in both rooms, please", Ichigo added hastily to the clerk, who gave him a very patronizing look and nodded. He handed a pad for Isshin to sign and as he did, the clerk said, "You'll be staying in rooms 310 and 311. Please enjoy your stay!"

"Thank, and good day to you as well!" Isshin ran off to the elevators like an excited child with Yuzu and Karin. He'd forgotten to take the luggage. Ichigo sighed heavily and bent over to lift all the suitcases. Surprisingly, Rukia stayed behind with him, carrying Yuzu and Karin's suitcases with a small grunt.

"You know, you can go on ahead with them." He indicated the rest of his family, which was waiting impatiently for them.

"Yeah, well, you've been really good about this whole trip." Rukia gave him a rare smile. "The least I can do is to help you with the luggage."

"...Rukia..." Was he really hearing her right? Was this Rukia?!?

"You owe me 10 Pokemon Plushies though," she added with a small sniff.

Yep. Rukia was back. "NO friggin way...!" Ichigo started to argue, walking after her.

(Inside rooms 310 and 311)

Ichigo unzipped his duffel bag on his bed for the next two nights. Next to him, Isshin was humming happily as he arranged his clothing. Ichigo frowned as he saw his own clothes. "Rukia did some job of packing my clothes...they're all a mess!" Annoyed, he turned the duffel bag upside down and shook all the clothing out onto the bed.

"PAH!" He froze as he heard that horridly familiar voice. "Th-thank god somebody let me out – Ichigo! Where's Nee-san?" Kon got up blearily, rubbing his beady eyes.

"Ichigo? What's that weird noise?" Isshin attempted to peer over his son's shoulder to see what the source of the talking was. "Are you talking to yourself?"

Ichigo suddenly grabbed Kon in a vice-like grip and spun around. "N-no! It's just this doll! It talks when it's squeezed!" He gave Kon a rather hard squeeze, along with a play-along-or-you're-so-DEAD look and Kon choked out "H-Hello! I want to be your friend!" He struggled to pretend to be a mere talking stuffed animal as Isshin scrutinized him.

"So...is this yours Ichigo?" Isshin asked with a sly grin. Ichigo glared at him and said in frosty tones "NO."

"So how did it end up coming from your duffel bag?" Isshin started to laugh. "It's alright to admit you still have a teddy bear, Ichigo! Why, when I was your age –"

"IT'S NOT MINE!" Ichigo roared. "It's...Rukia's! Yeah! She must've put Kon in my duffel bag by accident when she was packing!"

"Kon?" Isshin looked at the stuffed animal. "It has a name?"

"Y-yeah. Don't ask me why – Rukia named it." Ichigo tried not to show any outward signs of relief as Isshin let the matter drop. "Err...I'm just gonna give this back to Rukia." He slipped out of the room, clutching Kon tightly. When the door was safely closed, he turned to Kon and hissed , "What were you _doing_ in my duffel bag?!?" Kon gave out a small squeak. He could literally feel his stuffing leaking out of his seams as Ichigo clutched his fragile body.

"I-It's not my fault Ichigo! Nee-san stuck me inside your clothes! And, BOY, DO YOUR BOXERS STINK ICHIGO! WHAT DO-" Kon was silenced by Ichigo clasping a hand over his muzzle.

"Shut it!" Ichigo snarled at the stuffed animal. Kon dared not to speak any more. Ichigo sighed and then knocked on room 311. Rukia opened the door, peering up. "Oh, it's you Ichigo. What do you want?"

He thrust Kon into her arms. "WHY did you put him in my duffel bag?!?" He demanded. She shrugged. "He was being annoying so I put him in your clothes to shut him up." Kon, meanwhile, was busily happily cuddling in Rukia's arms, with a look of absolute content. Ichigo sighed, and scratched the back of his head. "Whatever...just take care of him for the rest of the weekend, ok?"

"Fine." She lifted Kon up, staring at him coldly. "I'll just give him to Yuzu. She'll love taking care of him." Kon's face would've blanched if possible. Instead, he trembled violently as Rukia re-entered her room. Ichigo heard Kon give a quick sob before the door closed.

"Well, at least that's over and done with."

(Sometime after that ...)

"Alright!" Isshin exclaimed happily. "Now that we're finally here, have finished packing, and since it is already 9:00 because of the traffic jam...we are finally going to that place whom all of us have been waiting for! We are going...to the POKEMON CENTRE!"

While the rest of his family whooped and cheered (while singing Orihime's insane Pokemon Centre Song), rushing to the car, Ichigo lagged behind. "Sigh..." Once again, Ochi-sensei's haunted him.

_"Try to stay alive!"_

(End of chap)

And so...Ichigo manages to survive yet again! Lol, personally, my fav part of this fanfic was the crazy Pokemon Centre song 3. I hope you enjoyed it too!

Thus have three chaps passed without them yet reaching the Pokemon Centre...in chap 4, they will actually enter the holy grounds of (drumroll) the POKEMON CENTRE. Will Ichigo survive?! Will Rukia go insane? Will Isshin steal all the plushies then get arrested?!? All this all more will be answered in the 4th chap!!! Sooooo...you guys know the routine by now...:

THANKS FOR READING AND PLEASE REVIEW! THE MORE REVIEWS – THE FASTER I'LL UPDATE!!!


	4. Chapter 4

Pikachu, I Choose You: A Bleach Fanfic

Disclaimer: I have to say it again? Geez... (gulp). I...I don't own...BLEACH!!! THERE!!! I said it! ...And I don't own Pokemon either.

Summary: What does Pikachu resemble? A mouse? Kinda. A yellow rat? That's true...hey, but that's beside the point. Yes, Pikachu looks like a rabbit! In short...Rukia finds out about Pokemon and all hell breaks loose (for Ichigo)

Ahhh...I got such a nice break from writing...kinda wanna go back to it – but I can't keep all the reviewers waiting, now, can I? OO Thnx to all who reviewed! I'm glad you enjoyed all the Pokemon goodness .

Btw, for notes on how chaps are coming along, visit my profile page! I have a little section which briefly says how many words I'm at, when it's expected to come out, and sometimes even an excerpt from the chap!

So...Ichigo will finally enter (DUNDUNDUN) the POKEMON CENTRE!!! Let's see how Ichigo will survive this time XD.

Chap 4

"It's...it's _beautiful"_, Rukia sighed. Many people in the crowd surrounding her agreed enthusiastically. Ichigo was not one of them.

"I don't see what's so great about this stupid shop," Ichigo muttered staring at the entrance with hard eyes. The large gray building had a large sign with the Pokemon logo on it, posted over a blue arc with the outlines of various Pokemon on it. The displays windows had posters depicting Pokemon such as Turtwig and Skitty on it, with tantalizing glimpses inside the shop. The people in the crowd surrounding the entrance were pressed up against the displays, or running inside, waiting impatiently for their friends and family to follow.

"Why, Ichigo, what are you saying?" Isshin cried. He was busily snapping photo after photo of the shop, looking positively buoyant with joy. "This is the most beautiful building I've ever seen! Why...beautiful doesn't even come close! It's sublime! It's gorgeous! IT'S LOVELYTASTIC!!! IIT'S BEAUTILICIOUS!!! IT'S – "

"SHUT UP! Those aren't even words!" Ichigo snapped. "And try to save our film – you can't waste it all on the entrance!"

"Don't worry, my son – I have plenty more!" Isshin proudly whipped out a Ziploc bag bulging with film and shoved it in Ichigo's face. "But you're right –we can't take pictures of only the entrance! Ichigo! Yuzu! Karin! Rukia! We need to take a picture of all of us together as a family! Excuse me, sir," Isshin asked a man standing close to them. "Can you please take a photo of my family and me for us?"

"No problem," the man answered, carefully taking the camera from Isshin. As the Kurosakis gathered together (Ichigo grudgingly), the man smiled at Ichigo and Rukia. "Are you taking your girlfriend on a date?"

"HELL NO – SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" _Why_ does everyone ask that?!? Ichigo had a strong desire to kick something while Rukia merely blinked.

"Of course not! That is my third daughter, Rukia!" Isshin proclaimed proudly. He turned to the man with a solemn face. "You see, poor Rukia-chan here needed somewhere to live, so she is now an honorary Kurosaki! Though of course, I'd be thrilled if Rukia and Ichigo decided to grant me some grandchildren!" The man blinked while Ichigo punched Isshin in the face. _Stupid old man – just shut your MOUTH._ He thought irritably.

"Please – can we just take the photo?"

(15 minutes later)

"Look! A person is dressed up as Lucario!!!" Yuzu hopped up and down excitedly, pointing at what was indeed a Lucario costumed person in front of the store.

"It says that it's the "Lucario Handshake Event" day," Karin informed her family, looking at a poster on the wall. "Basically, we get to pose with the guy over there and get our pictures taken."

"Daddy!" Yuzu turned to Isshin with hopeful puppy eyes. "Can we _please _take our pictures with Lucario-san? Plllleaaassssseee???"

"Why, of course! Daddy won't deny his little girls this chance of a lifetime!" Cheering, the lot of them ran down to where "Lucario-san" was, Ichigo following with a thoroughly exasperated look on his face."Lucario-san! Lucario-san!" Yuzu and Karin yelled, waving energetically at the man in the suit. "We wanna take pictures next!" Of course, since the man was being Lucario, he couldn't speak, so he gave them the thumbs up and gestured for them to come over. Isshin was fairly glowing, hurriedly taking out his camera as Yuzu and Karin posed with Lucario.

"Oh, my little girls, you look so beautiful!" He cried out, attracting many weird looks from shoppers. "Say cheese!"

"Why don't you and Rukia-chan go next, Ichigo?" Isshin suggested happily as Yuzu and Karin came skipping back. Ichigo merely gave him a look. Isshin shrank back nervously, whimpering. "...what?"

"I – am – a –_teenager,_" Ichigo spat out the words, scowling around him at the many children around to empathize his point. A little boy started to cry as Ichigo's scowl passed over him.

"Ichigo!" Rukia said sharply, noticing the little boy. Isshin followed her gaze and gave a gasp of shock.

"Oh, now look what you've done!" Isshin cried out, rushing over to the crying boy, who was being comforted by his mother. "Are you ok? My big, bad son didn't hurt you, did he?" Isshin coaxed the little boy. The boy gave a great sniff and shook his head, eyes still filled with tears. He took a terrified look at the dark-faced Ichigo. Ichigo had to admit, he felt kinda bad for making the kid cry though.

Rukia walked over and crouched down, talking to the boy kindly, who stopped crying. "What's your name?"

"M-my name is Hikaru." He seemed to be more relaxed in Rukia's presence, looking up at her with trusting eyes.

"Have you had a chance to take a photo with Lucario-san yet, Hikaru-chan?" He shook his head, eyeing the suited man longingly.

"Hikaru's a shy little boy – he's a little scared of Lucario-san, so he won't take the photo – we also ran out of film," his mother explained. Rukia looked thoughtful for a moment; then her face brightened as she hit upon an idea.

"Kurosaki-san," she addressed Ichigo's father. "What about me and Ichigo take a photo with Hikaru-chan? That way, Hikaru can take the photo and it'll be Ichigo's way of apologizing." She glared at the offending orange-haired teenager, who made a slight gagging noise.

"W-what? Do I have to?" Ichigo protested. Rukia glared at him, but his pride refused for him to give in so easily. To take a little kid photo with a man dressed up as a _Pokemon_... "Can't I just apologize? I'm sorry for making you cry!" He added hastily to the little boy, who shrank slightly behind Rukia.

"Take a photo Ichigo! It can't be that bad!" Isshin cheerfully took the matter out of Ichigo's hands as he dragged his son over to the man being Lucario, while Rukia and Hikaru followed.

"But...but..." Ichigo flailed, thinking desperately of an excuse to get out of this as Isshin positioned them so Hikaru was standing with Lucario's hands on his shoulders, and Ichigo and Rukia on either side of them. "But...we can't even get him the photo after! We can't send them the photos after!"

"Not to fear my son, I brought my Polaraid!" (In case you don't know what a Polaraid is, it's those cameras which instantly develop the photos) Isshin happily showed off his Polaraid camera in Ichigo's face.

"You...you _freak..._," Ichigo managed to say. _Who brings so many cameras and film on such a short trip?!?_

"Why, thank you! I'll take that as a compliment," Isshin said proudly. "Now, say cheese!"

CLICK

FLASH

"...you sure look grumpy in this photo, Ichigo."

"Shut it."

(Finally...entering the Pokemon Centre)

"Pokemon Centre; it's there we go!

With Mudkips, Pikachus and Slowbros!

Games, videos, and plushies too

Of Meowth, Turtwig and Mewtwo

DVDS, cards, keychains, toys

For every single girl and boy

There's merchandise galore,

And we want more!

Garage kits, stationary, pencils, pens

And it's all gonna cost a lot of yen!

Oodles of stickers, songs to hear

Oh, if only the Centre was near

It's not just an act;

We all know it's fact!

That everyone loves –

POKEMON!"

"Rukia, please, don't sing that song." Ichigo moaned, his eyes shut tight. They had finally entered the Pokemon Centre – and it far exceeded Rukia's wildest dreams, while far surpassing Ichigo's worst nightmares.

The first thing they noticed was the sheer amount of people there were. The swarms of people from all age groups babbling about Pokemon – there were even foreigners that looked like they came from America in the group! Then the noise came and roared in their ears.

"Argh, I can't even hear myself think!" Ichigo yelled over the noise. Rukia was distracted by the Pokemon Hall of Fame, busily examining the footprints.

(Here's a description for those of you who have no clue whatsoever what it is – and yes, it's real)

Just in the entrance of the Pokemon Centre, there are some brass plaques off to the side. There are 3 of them and each one has footprints in them – one of Pikachu, one of Charmeleon and one of some bird Pokemon...(forget which one)

(And back to the fanfic)

"Ichi-nii, is this _gold_?" Yuzu ogled at the footprints with awe. Ichigo snorted.

"Of course not, Yuzu. They couldn't afford it."

"You sure? The Pokemon Company is pretty rich..."

"I...I MUST TAKE PICTURES OF THIS BEAUTIFUL SIGHT!!!" Isshin jumped in and began clicking madly away, much to the annoyance of the surrounding people. Ichigo, Rukia, Yuzu and Karin all took that as their cue, and left the Pokemon Hall of Fame, leaving Isshin to his photo fetish.

The store was jam-packed with Pokemon. Shelves upon shelves of various Pokemon merchandise, display cases in which tempting video games peered out, plushies crowded onto tops of shelves, blown up legendary Pokemon hanging lazily from the ceiling, posters and posters plastering the walls, screens advertising the Pokemon series and movies...

_Geez, I'd need eight eyes to see all of this stuff_. Ichigo idly thought, as he starely distastefully at a group of Pikachu, Plusle and Minun plushies, which stared balefully back at him.

"Oh, look Ichigo!" Rukia suddenly turned to point excitedly at the wall where several large screens were. "It's some of those vi-do games you told me about!" She struggled to say the strange word; her tongue looked like it was trying to balance a pebble on it.

"It's a _video _game, Rukia." Ichigo sighed. Would she _never_ get the terms of this world right?

"Video games?!?" Karin yelled sharply, swinging her head from side to side, trying to find it before finally catching sight of it. "C'mon Yuzu, Rukia, Ichi-nii – I bet I can beat you all!" She ran to one of the screens, from which a group of children was leaving. Surrounding children eagerly swarmed forward, but Karin beat them all.

"Outta my way!" She roughly pushed her way to the screen and grabbed the joystick roughly, punching one poor boy in the face. "HA! It's mine! All of you, buzz off!" She turned to holler for her siblings. "OI! I GOT THE GAME FOR US! HURRY UP!"

"Wait, Karin-chan!" Yuzu wailed, squeezing her way through the crowd of disappointed children. Ichigo sighed, and picked Yuzu up. "Oi, all of you, get out of the way." The children, all awed and scared of this tall, scary-faced stranger, scurried out of the way like ants and Ichigo walked to the video games, Rukia following close behind.

"Finally!" Karin yelled. "Ok, which game do you guys wanna play first?" She turned around eagerly to the screen. Rukia and Yuzu leaned in eagerly.

"Ohhh, let's play that racing game...looks fun..."

"No, no, I wanna play the mimicking Mime Jr. one...they're so adorable..."

"Whatever, I'm not playing." As one, the three girls, even Yuzu, turned to glare hard at Ichigo. He glared stubbornly back. "I'm _not_ gonna play baby games with you three. It's ok in Yuzu and Karin, but seriously, you too Rukia? Act your age!"

"Oh, I get it Ichi-nii," Karin smirked. "Nice acting..."

"What do you mean acting?!?" He yelled back.

"You're just acting like this is above you 'cause you're scared you're gonna get beaten by one of us, aren't you?" She grinned like a fox. "Well, Ichi-nii, if you're that scared, then have it your way."

"I'm _not _gonna fall for that trick," Ichigo snapped, turning his head away with an indignant huff. "You'll have to do better than that, Karin."

However, the crowd of children had swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

"That guy's scared of losing to girls? Wimp..."

"What a loser..."

"I bet I could beat him...he doesn't look too tough..."

"I guess he's as weak as what his hair looks like – a dandelion!"

_Great.__ Now Karin has destroyed my image in front of a bunch of kids half my age that I don't even know._ "Fine!" A vein throbbed in his temple as he grabbed the last joystick irritably. "I can beat you all; it'll be a piece of cake!" Karin smiled satisfactorily, Yuzu gave a cheer and Rukia looked at him smugly.

"Racing game first!" Karin pounded the A button. "Ok – we direct our Pokemon with the control stick and pound the A button to make it go faster! I'm gonna beat you all!" She pressed the A button again and the game started.

"What the hell is this horse thing?" Ichigo asked, staring at his Pokemon. Rukia snorted.

"It's called a Rapidash, Ichigo," she said, with a withering look that screamed "it-is-so-obvious-you-dense-moron". Ichigo chose to ignore that.

On the screen, it flashed:

3 (Ichigo: What the...why are the numbers weird pink globs with faces on them?)

2

1

Start!

"I'm winning!" Karin yelled triumphantly, the four of them pounding their buttons furiously. The crowd of watching children cheered and booed respectively for each of them.

"Oh, no you don't – FASTER, YOU DAMN HORSE!" Ichigo howled, pounding the poor button furiously.

"I won!" Karin crowed, punching the air as the screen flashed "Player 1 wins!"

"Whhhaaa?!" Ichigo yelled. "I was pounding the stupid button so hard and I still didn't go faster?"

"Dumbass!" Rukia yelled into his ear. "You were running into the wall!" She pointed to the screen to prove her point. "You have to look up to see where you're going!" The crowd of children shrieked with laughter as Ichigo turned red.

"Ok! Next game! The "Copy Mime Jr." game!" Karin yelled happily. "We have to copy Mr. Mime's movements with the joystick! If you get it wrong, the Pikachu thundershocks you! Once you run out of health, you lose! We all know I'm gonna win, but let's start!"

One common trait of the Kurosaki's is their absmal memory – naturally, Rukia, being a Kuchiki, won this game.

"DAMN!" Ichigo hung his head in shame as Rukia flashed the victory sign at the crowd of cheering children behind them.

"Ok – next game for sure! I'm gonna win that one for sure!"

"Munchlax Buffet! You have to grab as much food as possible! Press the A button to gobble it! Some foods are worth more! Others make you lose points! I'm gonna win this – let's start!"

Winner: Yuzu.

(30 minutes later...)

"Annnnddd, here are the scores:

In first place, we have Karin, with 5 wins!

Second place, we have Rukia with 3 wins!

And tied for last, we have Ichigo and Yuzu with 1 each!

Thank you for watching! Hope you all enjoyed the show!"

Isshin, who'd shown up halfway through the 4th game (and started taking photos like a maniac), finished talking with a flourish, bowed deeply and beamed. The crowd of children cheered loudly. The ones nearest Karin high-fived her; some children snickered loudly at Ichigo, who was red with humiliation.

Here are Yuzu, Karin and Rukia's words of comfort to poor Ichigo

"It's ok, Nii-san...it was a really close game!"

"Hehe, I knew I would win!"

"Ha! Fool!"

(At the Master Pokedex)

"...Can we _leave _now?"

"NOOOO!" Yuzu, Karin and Rukia screamed in unison, not bothering to look up from the screen. Ichigo sighed with annoyance and scratched the back of his head.

"You've been looking at that thing for 30 freaking minutes!"

"So?" Rukia asked, busily reading the profile on Buneary.

"...Never mind. I'm just going to join Dad at the Games section."

He strolled over and paused to look at the Nintendo DS. He ignored Isshin, who was taking a photo of every individual gameboy and game (Isshin, in turn, was ignoring the stares he got from surrounding customers). He inspected the silver light version. "It'd be cool if only there wasn't a Pikachu on it..." he muttered, looking at the picture of it on the box.

"A Pikachu?!?" Rukia had suddenly popped up behind him, peering over his shoulder. He yelped and nearly dropped the box. She snatched the box from him and read the labels intently.

"Ichigo, what's a Nintendo DS?" She demanded, shaking the box lightly to hear it rattle. He snatched it quickly from her.

"Don't do that – you might break it!" He carefully put it back on the shelf. "A gameboy is something you can play video games on."

"Like the ones we played before?" She asked excitedly, eyes wide.

"Yeah, but only if you have the game as well," Ichigo said. He looked at her sternly. "_No_."

"Huh?" She asked, looking confused.

"No, I'm not buying you one." He crossed his arms. Rukia didn't bother asking how he knew.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll go insane with it, annoy me to hell with it, and it's expensive."

She sighed. Then her eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her forehead. "Ichigo! We have to buy souvenirs for everyone!!!"

"Oh...right...I totally forgot," he lied, as he followed Rukia, who was waiting impatiently for him to catch up. _My...poor wallet..._

"Ok! Let's see who we need to buy stuff for." Rukia whipped out a list of her classmates:

_People to buy Pokemon stuff for:_

_(Not Checked off; **Checked off**)_

_-Orihime_

_-Chad_

_-Ishida_

_-Tatsuki_

_-Keigo_

_-Mizuiro_

_-Chizuru_

_-Ryo_

_-Mahana_

_-Michuru_

"Hmmm..." Rukia studied the list thoughtfully. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah...?"

"I hope you brought a _lot _of money with you!"

(End of Chap)

Well, how did you enjoy this chap? I hope it was worth the wait - if it wasn't... OO. This is a weird ending, but this is a very long chap – my longest yet, in fact! I'm saving the souvenir shopping for next chap, if you don't mind (if you do...well, too bad for you! No, no, I'm sorry...).

In case there are any curious readers, here's a list of all the things in this chap that were fact and all those which were fiction.

The entrance – yes, that was a HORRIBLE description and I'm SORRY!!! However, as far as I can tell from my research, that is what the Pokemon Centre looked like as of the year 2006. So – FACT!!!

The "Lucario Handshake Event" – Yes, this was an actual event that happened outside of the store in celebration of the release of the movie with Lucario in it (Pokemon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew; Movie 8)! It happened sometime in April 2006 though, so it is over and done with, for all you hoping to make it to Japan and take photos with Lucario...I'm sorry!

The Pokemon Hall of Fame – It is REAL! Unless I'm much mistaken and they've taken it out by now O.o. At any rate, it _was_ real at least, I can guarantee you that, and there is (or was) a replica of it in the Pokemon Centre in New York.

The video games Ichigo and company played – This is a half lie...I _think _they're video games, 'cause it sure does look like it, but I may be wrong! Of course, the games are totally made up...stole the concepts off of the Pokemon Stadium games for Nintendo 64 O.o.

The Master Pokedex – I think you can tell what it is – if not, then I don't have time to explain to dense people (PWNED! XD). This was definitely real in the Pokemon Centre in New York. Not sure about how up to date it is now...but that probably means it was in the one in Tokyo as well!

All the decorations and merchandise that I have mentioned so far can be found in the shop as well!

Alrighty, and that's it! Any questions – again, visit my profile page for info on how the next chap is coming on and review people, review!!! THE MORE REVIEWS FASTER THE UPDATE!!!

P.S. Who can guess what the pink glob Pokemon Ichigo is talking about in the beginning of the games? Review and say what you think it was... (hehe – another method to get reviews...)


End file.
